Allen Jones

Allen Jones (born in Southampton in 1937) is an important and polarising figure in British Pop Art. He's best known for his provocative sculptures, which sometimes show female figures as pieces of furniture – a style that's still controversial today. After studying at Hornsey College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London, Jones was initially influenced by abstract expressionism, but early on made a conscious decision to adopt a figurative visual language. The vivid colours of his works allow him to simultaneously reveal and conceal the naked body, which is what makes his visual language so appealing. As a painter, sculptor and graphic artist, he focuses on themes such as sexuality, gender roles and body representation in his work. From the late 1960s onwards, he gained international attention with sculptural works in steel and fibreglass, in which female bodies are often transformed into tables, chairs or clothes racks. He was strongly inspired by elements of pop culture, advertising graphics and erotic illustration. Adult comics from the 1940s and 1950s had a particularly formative influence on him. Despite repeated criticism of his portrayal of female figures, Jones sees himself as an artist who explores the boundaries between art and everyday life. His works reflect the breaking down of social conventions in the 1960s and 1970s and remain an important reference point in British post-war art to this day.